科学新发现：我们的1秒钟将变长了！

 We all know time is a construct, and right now, it's kept by the very precise tick of an international network of around 500 atomic clocks.

我们都知道时间是个复杂的概念。目前，世界上有一个由大约500台原子钟组成的网络，而我们就通过这些原子钟精确的滴答进行计时。

But now researchers have shown that time could be kept even more accurately¹ with a new-generation of clocks called optical clocks, and they want to use the new system to redefine a second - which would mean we could squeeze even more into our days. The optical clock they've just measured is so precise that it would have lost less than two minutes if it had been running since the birth of the Universe, which is pretty incredible once you wrap your head around it.

但是现在研究人员表示，新一代钟表——光学钟——可以更准确地计时，而且他们想用新系统来重新定义一秒钟的长度，这也就意味着我们的日子里甚至可以挤进去更多光阴。刚刚测量的光学钟非常精确，如果它从宇宙诞生之日起开始运行的话，到现在误差还不到两分钟，仔细想想简直不可思议。

科学新发现：我们的1秒钟将变长了！

Global time-keeping is important, because 'the second' - as defined by the International System of Units (SI) - is what our GPS devices, electrical power grids², and financial networks all rely on.

全球计时是非常重要的，因为我们的GPS设备、电网和金融网络全都依赖着由国际计量系统（SI）定义的“秒”。

That's why we use atomic - or microwave - clocks, which measure the vibration³ of a caesium atom to keep time, just like the tiny swinging of a pendulum⁴. And since 1967, a SI second has been defined as 9,192,631,770 cycles of those vibrations⁵. But, as specific as that sounds, even the best atomic clocks can still accumulate an error of about 1 nanosecond over a month.

这也是我们应用原子钟或微波钟的原因，它们通过测量铯原子的摆动来计时，就像一个钟摆在轻微摆动。自1967年以来，国际计量系统定义的一秒就是91亿9263万1770次这种微小摆动。但是，尽管听起来很精准，即使是最好的原子钟在一个月的时间内也仍然会积累出十亿分之一秒的误差。

Optical clocks, on the other hand, are even more precise. They work similarly to atomic clocks, but they measure the oscillations of atoms or ions that vibrate at frequencies about 100,000 times higher than microwave frequencies - which is a whole lot faster, and therefore more accurate.

另一方面，光学钟却更为精确。它们的工作原理与原子钟相似，测量原子或离子的振动，但这些原子或离子的摆动频率大约是微波频率的10万倍左右——这要快得多，因此也更为准确。

"Our study is a milestone⁶ in terms of practical implementation⁸ of optical clocks," said one of the researchers, Christian⁹ Grebing, from the National Metrology Institute of Germany, "The message is that we could today implement⁷ these optical clocks into the time-keeping infrastructure¹⁰ that we have now, and we would gain."

德国国家计量研究所的一位研究人员克里斯蒂安·格雷宾说：“就光学钟的实际应用而言，我们的研究是一块里程碑。也就是说，今天我们可以把这些光学钟纳入目前拥有的计时基础设施之中，而且，我们会有所收获。”

That gain is the ability to squeeze more into every second. Us slow humans wouldn't really notice, but things like financial time stamps would be more specific ,and banks would be able to complete even more transactions per second.

收获就是可以在每一秒之中挤入更多的时光。我们这些慢腾腾的人类不会真正注意到这点变化，但是金融时间戳之类的东西会更为精准，而银行甚至会在每秒钟完成更多的交易。

1 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

2 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

5 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。